SHELLY

Have you heard of Shelly Pennefather?  Well, get a load of this.

In 1983, Shelly Pennefather was the undoubted best high school basketball player in the country.  She had led her Utica, New York Notre Dame HS team to an undefeated championship as a senior.  Before that, she led her Bishop Machebeuf HS to three undefeated seasons and three Colorado state championships.

Shelly accepted a full scholarship to Villanova University to play basketball.  Villanova is operated by the Catholic Augustine Order of Friars and religious; an international group dedicated to living the life of Saint Augustine.

Shelly was 6'1" tall and ahead of her time on the court.  In 1985, 1986, and 1987 she was named the Big East Conference Player of the Year.  Villanova won the Big East Championship in both '86 and '87 and Shelly was the tournament MVP both years.  In 1987, she received the Wade Trophy as the best basketball college player in the country.

There was no American woman's professional basketball league at that time, so, after graduation, she went to Japan to play.   For the Nippon team she became the highest paid female basketball player in the world.  After three seasons - - she quit.

She more than quit.  She quit big time.  She joined the Catholic order of religious nuns called the Poor Clares.  These are cloistered nuns with the most rigid of rules - pray, sleep, eat - each regimen strictly controlled every day of the year.  They are not allowed contact with the outside world accept every 25 years...yes, 25 years.  She had her first physical contact with family and friends in 2019.  It will be another 25 years before she is again allowed that privilege.

It may be hard for many to understand - but I'm sure she would say it has been a life well lived.
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